Green Tea for Chickens Learn how to use green tea to help treat your chickens from several different diseases from Valerie Boese. Chicken keeping has become a widespread trend, rather you own chickens for a hobby, raise them for meat and eggs, or as a business for profit. Whatever the reason, every chicken owner strives […]

Acquiring baby chicks is always exciting! But what happens when a chick doesn’t turn out as planned and a deformity is present? When it comes to raising chicks there are a few common deformities that you may experience from time to time. Hand-picking chicks from a breeder or farm store can help to minimize the […]

Ascites in backyard chickens isn’t super common, but it’s possible you will come across this condition if you keep chickens. Ascites isn’t really an illness itself. Rather, it’s a symptom that something is wrong with your chicken. According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, ascites is when fluid builds up in the peritoneal cavities of a […]

Impacted crop surgery on your chicken sounds scary, but it’s not impossible to perform this surgery. It’s inevitable if you have chickens that you are going to encounter crop issues at some time. The crop, located on the hen’s right side just beneath the skin, is a balloon-like pouch where everything they eat or drink […]

Thyme, oregano, a little vodka…not a recipe for pasta sauce, but herbal treatments from  Amy Fewell for chicken ailments such as bumblefoot, external parasites, and respiratory ailments. Poultry body language can help you recognize the first signs of sickness, and to help them prevent issues from arising. Prevention is key when it comes to keeping […]

Poultry parasites can cause harm to individual birds, or the whole flock. Elizabeth Mack identifies some common parasites to watch for and what to do about them. For small flock chicken owners, nothing raises more alarm than finding out that one of your chickens has parasites. Chickens can pick up internal parasites from ingesting contaminated […]

Over the years, I’ve raised Silkies on and off. Every once in a while, one of the feed stores will get in a batch and I just can’t say no. I think they’re absolutely adorable! As we expand our chicken coop, I’d like to designate a wing just to the Silkie breed. Another breed I’d […]

Did you catch the foreshadowing in my last post? Rose had been renamed Suzy.  If you are at all familiar with the Community Chickens podcast then you know that, to us, Suzy may be a cursed name! I should have known better. I should have seen the signs. Two days before it really hit me that […]

Salmonella is to chickens as E. coli is to beef and Vibrio is to seafood. They are bacteria that are typically partnered with a particular animal or group of animals. But did you know chickens have another bacterium that is actually more common than Salmonella? It’s Campylobacter. In fact, Campylobacter is the most common foodborne illness […]

When it comes to chicken keeping injuries and illnesses are par for the course.  Keeping a chicken first aid kit is extremely important, knowing what supplies you need even more so.  I like to have a separate small tackle box or tool chest for each type of animal.  What’s in my chicken kit?  Let’s go […]